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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24017182">Snowy Weather</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormDriver/pseuds/StormDriver'>StormDriver</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy XIV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Injury, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, i have to make everything myself, just starting a collection of wol/ardbert fics arent i</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:07:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,533</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24017182</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormDriver/pseuds/StormDriver</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Winter returns to Norvrandt, as did the night sky and it's once-was heroes. But perhaps going on a hunt spree in the midst of a snowstorm was a poor idea for the Warriors of Darkness.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ardbert &amp; Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Ardbert/Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Snowy Weather</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Takes place in some sort of post-5.3 scenario (as of writing this, 5.3 is not out) and under the hopeless assumption by a hopeless romantic that Ardbert will come back alive, please Yoshi-P, I'm begging</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The winds kept howling and shoving her feet around. Her vision drenched in the white, freezing powder. No clarity beyond an arm's length ahead of her. No noise aside from the deafening wind and her coat's fabrics flying with it. No feeling but her own numb skin beginning to develop frostbite.</p>
<p>"D-damn it…" She hissed, holding her hand over her face as a visor. Her legs drew trails in the snow behind. "Wh-why this weather-" </p>
<p>A sharp pain shot through her right leg and made her grit her teeth and hold back a shriek. An angry groan as her hands flew to her leg and pressed against the wound. Only freshly received by the serpent-like hunt that had managed to scrape her in her cocky fight against it. Still leaking blood from the torn cloth, though mostly dried. Of course, she’d won and proudly hung the corpse with the rest of her equipment to take back. But it was still a wound that she’d rather not have.</p>
<p>They were supposed to have returned to the Crystarium by now. She'd slain her marks and was ready to be properly compensated as any adventurer should be. Yet the snow began to fall and he was nowhere to be seen. </p>
<p>Raine kept dragging herself onwards, not quite certain what part of Lakeland she was in anymore. She had been in Laxan Loft and was heading east once she realized that Ardbert hadn't come around yet. She might've been part way down the hill, near Fort Jobb for all she knew. Or she could've lost all sense of direction and was heading towards the Crystal Tower. </p>
<p>But something tugged her in this direction. Her own heart beating more furiously as the winds pushed her backwards. The black coat was now dotted with white flakes. Her hair turned more white than it was black at the roots. She tugged the neckpiece of her coat just a little higher and buried her face in the fabric, hoping to shield it from the ice. </p>
<p>One single gust of wind kicked snow up into her face and she yelped, staggering backwards. Doing her utmost to remain upright and kept forcing her legs forward.</p>
<p>The bangs over her eyes kept blowing all over, making it all the more annoying and difficult to see. Her earrings pulled down on her cat-like ears, and where the metal touched her skin, it was so cold that it burned.</p>
<p>Another deep breath in and she swore she could feel the ice filling up her lungs and coating the inside of her mouth. Raine winced and stopped walking forward, ducking her head and pulling her collar over her mouth and nose.</p>
<p>She clenched both eyes shut and felt the shiver creep through her body. Starting in her legs and resonating up her spine, making the fur on her tail bristle. And to think she'd dressed for this weather.</p>
<p>So how could Ardbert be fairing?</p>
<p>He hadn't worn anything different, just the warrior's armor he always did and his axe. No extra coat nor attire. He could not be feeling any better…</p>
<p>Raine blinked her eyes open, slowly letting the cloth of her coat fall away from her mouth. She squinted at the cold, gray void in front of her, still feeling the shaking in her limbs and jaw. The rabid beating in her chest. The frantic thoughts in her head.</p>
<p>"Where are you…?" Her voice was quiet in the howls of the blizzard. Raspy and tentative and quiet.</p>
<p>"You would wonder where your friend is?"</p>
<p>Her entire body was shivering from the cold and it was difficult to compose herself at the sound of the new voice. One that she could swear she'd heard before. But not in such a long time. </p>
<p>Her body turned frantically in place, head whipping in every direction trying to find whoever had spoken. Yet more howling. More of the blanch hue. Nobody in sight.</p>
<p>"Wh-who…" Her teeth were already chattering. She kept spinning around, looking for the source of the voice.</p>
<p>“Don’t recognize me?” They sneered. “You wound me, madam!” </p>
<p>Her tail twitched as memories roused. Heart hammered harder in her chest. “Y-you’re…” She heaved. “You’re s-supposed to be… d-dead…”</p>
<p>“As are you. Last tale that I bore witness, you were keeling over amidst an apocalypse, spewing light from your lips.” Something trudged through the snow ahead of her. “The vaunted hero of the Source had every intention to take her last breath as a woman and her first as an eater. Yet despite every odd…”</p>
<p>His boots pressed into the snow in front of her. She stumbled backwards, trying to make some distance. But despite how far she seemed to go, the Ascian’s stature set him much higher than she, his shadow casting through the white fog. His cloak covered in the silver sheets of metal, spikes protruding out and a red mask drenched over his face.</p>
<p>“You managed to hold a tight grip on the firmament of your reality. Held on long enough to expunge the light that crept from every crack in your imperfect soul.” Though his face hidden, the voice was identifiable to only one Ascian she’d met. Whom she had bore arms against, she and her comrades, atop the broken city of the ancients. “One cannot help but wonder what other miracles you may perform now that you’ve decided to take the main stage.”</p>
<p>Raine stared at Emet-Selch’s blood-soaked mask. She could spot his unpleasant smirk of amusement, unhidden by the dreadful visor over his face and the cowl draped across his skin. </p>
<p>She was still shaking. How embarrassing. Right here in front of her dreaded enemy, she was shaking in her boots. Was it because of the cold? Or the terror creeping through her veins?</p>
<p>“Why so stiff, hero? Am I not a ghost of the past to you?” He held out a clawed hand, the kind that all Ascians had worn. Yet glancing at it only brought back memories of their last encounter. Of the monstrous image that held the world by its arm and threatened to cast it into the abyss.</p>
<p>Her eyes narrowed and she grit her teeth, trying to stand up straight again. “Why are you here?” The one sentence she’d managed without her jaw shaking the words out of her mouth. “Y-you’re… I saw you-”</p>
<p>“Why indeed. We’re only memories to you, are we not?”</p>
<p>Raine winced and took a step back. And Emet-Selch took a step forward.</p>
<p>“I’m afraid I must apologize, I truly thought I had you figured out. That I’d seen through the guise of your ‘mortal coil’ and caught a glimpse of your true nature.”</p>
<p>The wind kept kicking up and throwing her braids beating against her neck and cheeks. Their coats whipped in the wind and made it difficult to keep her eyes set on the Ascian. </p>
<p>“Perhaps not apologize to you directly… Rather the very man who saved you from your impending demise.”</p>
<p>Her heart skipped a beat. “Y-you mean…”</p>
<p>He shrugged and the smile only seemed more devious. “Elidibus might remember his name, but I never had the chance to meet the Warriors of Light from the First… And so I’d no idea that the spout of aether that I saw out of the corner of my eye could’ve been anything like a soul.”</p>
<p>Immediate sorrow and anger ignited in her chest. “You could s-see Ardbert?!” </p>
<p>“Is that his name? ‘Ardbert?’” Emet-Selch scoffed and his shoulders jostled while trying to suppress a laugh. The white snow was hardly sticking to his black coat, making it stand out all the more. “I know that souls take on so many different appearances throughout the years…” </p>
<p>His empty-eyed mask seemed to stare directly into the girl. “But if I truly had the right impression of you and you do indeed bear the fragments of her soul… How embarrassing for one of her shards to find a place with that fool of a man.” </p>
<p>The cold feelings were sapping her body of anything else. But the anger was enough to keep Raine standing. “All these years, a-all the decades, no one b-bothered notice he was there. And you’re admitting that y-you knew the entire time!?”</p>
<p>“Why spoil the surprise? I was sure the two of you would have figured it out without my guidance… And given the current state of affairs, you did just that.”</p>
<p>More silence. He crossed his arms as Raine began to shake more. Began to slip closer to the floor as her knees were giving way. </p>
<p>“I did not account for him to assist you in containing the light… Mmmmm, though it is noteworthy that him surrendering his soul to you made it possible in the first place. Most definitely a topic of interest that could be pursued once our great work is completed.”</p>
<p>She stomped one of her boots on the floor. “Why are you e-even telling me this?! Do you w-want me to fight you again?! ‘Cause I will!” She started to reach for the sword hanging at her waist.</p>
<p>The Ascian let his arms fall to his sides. “What, all by yourself?” </p>
<p>Raine stiffened, eyes wide. Fingers twitching at the grip of her sword. Yet she did not unsheathe the weapon. </p>
<p>Emet-Selch seemed closer now. His silhouette was easier to spot in the white haze. “You gave up what you had gotten back. Let him live out the rest of his finite days as a resident of the First.” He took another step closer. “You’ve no Exarch to summon other champions, and no Scions to hold your hand.” </p>
<p>Her hand was shaking, the sword clattering in its sheath. Tiny steps backwards left trails in the snow beneath her.</p>
<p>“Surely you’ve noticed the patterns… You could never destroy an Ascian without another giving up their life. Now tell me, weary wanderer. Do you believe that to be fair of you to demand?”</p>
<p>She kept backing up, trying to get away from the shadow. Her own breathing growing faster and timid sighs and held-in shrieks escaped, little by little. </p>
<p>“How many lives will be laid down for your own great work to even begin to take root in your half-broken home?”</p>
<p>
  <b>Moenbryda.</b>
</p>
<p>“How many will give their lives for a cause they will never see come to fruition while you turn around and take their victory?”</p>
<p>
  <b>Ilberd.</b>
</p>
<p>“How many people will throw themselves in front of you and die smiling in your arms because they believe in you, a hero?”</p>
<p>
  <b>Haurchefant.</b>
</p>
<p>“It was no different from me. The only reason you could ever win was because you had someone else ready to die for you.”</p>
<p>
  <b>Ardbert…</b>
</p>
<p>“He was ready to die, right? You didn’t just instruct him to give up his life for you, did you?”</p>
<p>
  <b>No…</b>
</p>
<p>“Or are you truly such a heartless person… That you were silently begging him, mayhap even influencing him to wholly devote his tattered being to you?”</p>
<p>
  <b>I… I wasn’t…</b>
</p>
<p>“Well, hero?”</p>
<p>
  <b>He wanted to help me. It was his choice… right?</b>
</p>
<p>“Will you deny it? Deny that you only keep him close anymore in the event that something like it ever happens again?” </p>
<p>
  <b>Right?</b>
</p>
<p>“You only fan the flames of his hope because he’s a shard to be used. To be sacrificed. To be rejoined.”</p>
<p>The snow was growing painful as it soaked over her limbs. Raine shook her head and forced herself to look up at the ancient. It was incredibly difficult to spot any hint of the red mask behind the falling snow. “That’s a lie.”</p>
<p>“Is it now?” </p>
<p>“He… he wanted to s-save Norvrandt, of his own v-volition. It only t-took him… a long time to r-remember why.” She hugged her arms tighter, doing what she could to stop her body heat from escaping. Her tail had gone stiff and drooped behind her, the tip brushing the snow. “Any Warrior of Light would s-say the s-same.”</p>
<p>“...Is this truly what you believe?”</p>
<p>Her eyes narrowed and she kept her glare set on the Ascian. Still hunched over and trying to keep warm. One of her arms was entirely numb and beginning to slip away. </p>
<p>“How… ironic. That’s not what she did.”</p>
<p>“‘Sh-she…?’”</p>
<p>“She abandoned the Convocation the moment we issued Zodiark’s summoning. Even if it held every fiber of hope and had every guarantee to save the old world…” Emet-Selch sighed. “She still deserted us. Because she was simply too afraid to be asked to give her own life.” She could feel the golden-eyed stare looking down. “Now look what’s become of her.”</p>
<p>Raine could not pull her eyes off the mask as it loomed above. Only ilms away from her face. She could barely feel his clawed hand draping over her shoulder. </p>
<p>“I’m… I’m not…”</p>
<p>
  <b>You are as she was.</b>
</p>
<p>“I didn’t desert anyone. I’ve always stood by their side until the very end.”</p>
<p>
  <b>Many have died in your name.</b>
</p>
<p>“And I’ve made plenty use of everyone’s sacrifices!”</p>
<p>
  <b>Yet what have you accomplished?</b>
</p>
<p>“Not a damn soul has died for me! They died for the world that they wanted to protect! The worlds that you want to kill! And godsdamnit, I’d give my life in a moment’s notice if it meant one more life was spared from your machinations!” </p>
<p>The voice in her head was gone. Either that or the wind drowned it out. She could, or rather she couldn’t, feel that her skin was losing all feeling. The hue turned blanch as her body was slowly buried in the snow. </p>
<p>“Hmph.” Emet-Selch muttered.</p>
<p>She could feel her legs giving way as she collapsed to her knees. There was snow in her coat where it ran over her body.</p>
<p>“Answer me then, hero.” </p>
<p>It was all she could manage to turn her face up. The white powder coating her skin and refusing to let go. Small droplets of ice clinging and freezing over her cheeks where she could not help her sorrows. </p>
<p>Emet-Selch’s mask did naught to hide the belittling expression he wore. His voice monotone as he spoke the question. “If you wish to give your life for the better cause, then why haven’t you died yet.”</p>
<p>She couldn’t keep herself upright, or even her eyes open. Her body fell forwards, face first directly into the snow. Her already freezing skin ached and threatened to chip. Her blood pumping was so slow that it was practically at rest within her veins. Not even the sound of her heartbeat could cover up the wind. It was slow, uneven. It only beat once every few seconds. </p>
<p>Her arms were splayed in the snow like her legs. Tail fell between them both as the falling flakes dotted her body and slowly began to bury her. Her hunts were long dead, including the one akin to a snake that she’d strung up on her person. Yet she was alone.</p>
<p> Perhaps if she’d given more care to her form during combat, or at least better protected her leg where she’d been injured, she wouldn’t be suffering the hindrance of venom running through her veins and tormenting her mind. Skewing reality beyond what was justified. That Ascian wasn’t really there. And she was alone.</p>
<p>A rapidly fading trail of footsteps left behind her. And no one else for malms around. Her eyes closed and breathing stale. Hands slowly trying to reach for what wasn’t there. And she was alone.</p>
<p>The Warrior of Darkness was alone. </p>
<hr/>
<p>“Well, good to know you came back in one piece.” A cup slid across the top of a counter, filled with a sweet scent. “But when do you plan to take your prizes somewhere else, where less customers will want to hurl when they look at ‘em?”</p>
<p>A cold night in the Crystarium, for certain. Flakes of snow drifted underneath the domes and chilled the air whenever a door or window was open. It hadn’t been a proper winter in Norvrandt in such a long time, and few of the world’s denizens were equipped to handle the weather.</p>
<p>Few except adventurers, who dressed for every occasion. Who proudly marched in and out of the Crystarium to carry out every menial task. From slaying a monster to getting a cat out of a tree. Of course after dealing with all of it, they may take a break and look for something to ease them into a well-deserved rest.</p>
<p>“Ah, and before you ask for another cup, the answer’s no. No matter how much you want to pay me.” A visibly tired elf with silver hair drawn into a braid pulled a mug off the counter. Her green apron did little to cover her body and she slowly cursed herself for not wearing something warmer. </p>
<p>“<em> Whaat!? </em> I just got back from fighting ridiculous hunt marks and you won’t allow me the pleasure of using my own hard-earned coin to drink!?” The hume pressed both his leather gloves on the counter in front of him, the metal gauntlets scraping the wooden tops. His frown and glare amounted to drunkeness. </p>
<p>Cyella’s brows furrowed and she tried not to laugh. “Stop shouting, you’re going to draw more attention than you normally do.” She kept her voice quiet, already noticing the few glances being thrown towards both herself and Ardbert. She ducked beneath the counter to find a rag and wipe the glass clean of any alcohol it once held. To be used again when the next customer came back and asked for something delectable.</p>
<p>He kept glaring at her, then let his blue eyes fall elsewhere, like towards the small mound of corse he’d dragged with him after his venture. There wasn’t a puddle of blood yet. And he didn’t think it was too gruesome to drag back with him.</p>
<p>Ardbert shrugged and looked back at Cyella. “It was a high-ranking hunt. They wouldn’t just give me the coin if I said I’d killed it <em> without </em>showing them proof.”</p>
<p>“Then perhaps you should go take it to the huntsman before you come to the bar and make all the customers sick!” She swatted at her friend with the rag playfully and he lifted up an arm to barely fend for himself. The two laughed, though Ardbert’s speech was more slurred. His slow swaying made it obvious that he was inebriated. </p>
<p>“If you give me another drink, I’ll do it faster.” The smile was lazy and the deception was clear to see. He didn’t plan on getting up anytime soon. “And I’ll slip you extra coin, too. Call it a gift from a friend.”</p>
<p>Cyella found it hard to believe that he really was acting so careless and upbeat after how brooding and serious he’d been in the past. It was like he was a completely different man. She smirked and tried not to snort laughing. “You’re awful!” But she couldn’t hide her smile. “No, you’re already off. Gods, you really are the sinner I remember you being.” Cyella pressed a glass on the counter, one that he’d failed to notice she’d poured. And though at a glance it was obvious that the crystal-clear liquid wasn’t more alcohol, he still reluctantly took the glass of water and began to drink it.</p>
<p>“And you’re <em> still </em>awful at holding your liquor after all these years. One shot and you’re off the deep end.” Her silver eyes set on his face. She slowly began to drink from her own cup. One that she’d liberally poured with the sweet orange nectar. Still holding eye-contact the whole time.</p>
<p>“Y’know, you could be kicked out for refusing a customer something that they ordered <em> and </em>had the coin to pay for?” Ardbert pressed the glass back down on the wooden counter, watching the ripples in the water.</p>
<p>“I’m sure they’d understand if I reminded them that I was denying it to the man that caused the Flood. Now stop asking, you’re not getting another drink.” </p>
<p>“And what if it was just for a friend?”</p>
<p>“Then your <em> friend </em>can come by and get it himself.” She smirked and took another sip from the cup. </p>
<p>“‘...Herself.’” </p>
<p>Cyella stopped drinking for a moment.</p>
<p>“She could… probably use a drink. After everything.” He hadn’t lost the chipperness, but he did seem a little more downtrodden. Eyes beset with worry, staring down at the water in the cup between his hands.</p>
<p>The elf put her cup back on the counter with one hand. “You two went out for your hunt marks together, yeah?”</p>
<p>Ardbert nodded, still staring at the glass. “We had different marks today. Said we’d meet back here when we were done. Or go searching for the other if they needed help.” The tips of his fingers tapping together without rhythm. </p>
<p>“Well, Raine’s not back yet.” Cyella leaned over the counter and glanced around the area. Tables and stools, some empty and some filled. But not a sign of the black-haired mystel and her strange armor. “You wanna go look for her?”</p>
<p>“...”</p>
<p>“Oh, don’t tell me you’re afraid to. You're not scared of the dark still, are you?” Cyella poked at him.</p>
<p>Ardbert flinched and jerked his head up. “Wh-what, no, I never was!” He stammered out. “I’d go looking but… I’m not sure if…”</p>
<p>“What? Spit it out, c’mon.” </p>
<p>“Does she really need my help? </p>
<p>Cyella blinked once. “...Considering how clueless the two of you seem to be at all hours of every day, I’d reckon you could both do with leaning on each other.” </p>
<p>“I didn’t mean <em>that.</em>” He scowled, glaring at her. “I meant… It feels like I’m more of a burden than help these days.”</p>
<p>Cyella’s eyes narrowed. She leaned on the counter, trying better to read his expression. “Like when?”</p>
<p>“I’m… not the best when it comes to fighting by myself… But when she offers to go with me for the day, she always seems to finish in half the time I take. And then she’ll proffer her assistance and practically carry my weight for me.” He gripped the glass more, threatening to crack it. “It’s somewhat embarrassing... Having to so heavily fall back on another Warrior of Light.” </p>
<p>“So? You’re still on a road to recovery.” Cyella reached forward and shook his shoulder. “And she’s been fighting nonstop for, what, two years now? Makes sense to me that she’s grown so independent. If anything, it’s a miracle you’re catching up so fast.” </p>
<p>“...I suppose.”</p>
<p>“You’re just thinking like this ‘cause you’re a little over. She’s probably caught up in helping some poor innocent with the groceries they dropped on the floor.” Cyella crossed her arms and stood back up straight. “I’m sure she’ll be back and ready to have a drink with you soon.”</p>
<p>She wasn’t back <em> any </em>time soon. Hours passed, several. Cyella kept moving around the bar and handing drinks and taking coin. Gave directions and helped identify the best drink for one’s tastes. All the while, Ardbert remained in his place at the counter. Slowly losing his stature and letting his body rest on the counter. </p>
<p>Cyella finished one last drink and handed it off to someone. A small dwarf with some natural dwarven attire that represented her as one of the Tholl’s. Though her helmet was missing. Cyella was about to ask, but one glance at her friend practically sleeping on the counter led to her abandoning the question and leaving the customer be.</p>
<p>She paced back over to where Ardbert was seated. He was awake still, but arms in front of him and his left cheek pressed against the tabletop. Eyes half-open and a distant stare. But he was conscious. </p>
<p>“She’s not back yet.” He mumbled as Cyella crept back into view. Still downcast and mood depressed.</p>
<p>“I see that…” She mumbled back, glancing around the bar again. Even fewer people were awake now. Even more obvious that Raine wasn’t back. “Maybe she just went straight to the Pendants after turning her marks in? She might’ve been so exhausted that-”</p>
<p>“She wouldn’t do that.” He cut off.</p>
<p>Cyella was lost for words for a moment. She stared at Ardbert as he slowly started to pick himself up, eyes still staring at something nowhere in front of him. With an expression void of any vigor. </p>
<p>“Do you think something happened to her?”</p>
<p>“She wouldn’t desert anyone.” His voice was practically monotone. Like he wasn’t even aware of what he was saying. </p>
<p>Cyella squinted and leaned forward. “...Ardbert?”</p>
<p>He said nothing, eyes still set on the empty air in front of him.</p>
<p>“You’re being weird. What’s wrong?”</p>
<p>“She’s always stood by their side until the very end.” Delivery was flat and quiet. Careless for anyone to hear him. Ardbert stood up, his expression still blank. And he was starting to walk away. He’d picked his ragged body up and started to walk away from the bar.</p>
<p>
  <em> And I’ve made plenty use of everyone’s sacrifices! </em>
</p>
<p>“Whoa, hey!” Cyella reached over the counter and grabbed his arm, bare hand wrapping over his gauntlet. “You didn’t slip another drink when I wasn’t looking, did you?! C’mon, don’t do anything-”</p>
<p>He wasn’t stopped for more than a moment. By force of walking alone, his arm was tugged free of her grasp, and he kept walking. The steel axe on his back swaying and his armor clanking. He left behind the hunts he’d killed to keep rotting on the floor. Walked onwards towards the markets, the aetheryte. Towards Lakeland. And with no true objective in mind.</p>
<p>
  <em> If you wish to give your life for the better cause, then why haven’t you died yet. </em>
</p>
<p>Cyella swore something beneath her breath, then vaulted over the counter. Ignored whatever glass she might’ve just kicked and shattered against the ground because her friend was clearly not in the right headspace.</p>
<p>“Ardbert!” She stepped in front of him and grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to stop, to face her with that lack of emotion. “Ardbert, what are you trying to do?”</p>
<p>Icy blue eyes so empty suddenly. His shorter-than-she stature made him turn his head up to look at her with such an empty expression. At Cyella’s desperately concerned face and the strong grip she had on his shoulders. </p>
<p>“D-don’t act like this, it’s making me nervous…” She shook him once, trying to get a response.</p>
<p>He blinked once, blue eyes unmoving.</p>
<p>“We didn’t lose you again, did we?” She cupped his pale cheek for a moment, trying to get any kind of a reaction. His skin was cold. There was still melting frost on the tips of his messy hair. </p>
<p>He blinked again and started to grasp a hint of emotion behind the cold stare. </p>
<p>He sucked in a quick breath and kept blinking, like he’d found himself somewhere different entirely. “What just-” Ardbert grabbed one of Cyella’s arms with his hand and frantically looked around. Eyes wide with concern and breathing growing faster. “Where-?”</p>
<p>Cyella’s brows furrowed and her frown grew. Her hand dropped away from his face, back onto his shoulder and jostling his body. “...The hells was that? Where’d you go?”</p>
<p>“That wasn’t-” He was still lost for words, or action altogether. He drew one hand up to his face and pressed against his eyes, trying to steady himself. “Why was it… so cold?”</p>
<p>“You’re cold? Do you need to go warm up?” She kept her hands on his shoulders, if anything gripping harder. </p>
<p>“No, <em> I’m </em>fine. But-” He didn’t finish the sentence. “But…” Dragged his hand over his face one more time, still trying to rummage through the words to say the right ones.</p>
<p>“Are you fond of being cryptic now? Is that your new hobby, Ardbert? Because it’s not a fun one.” She shook his shoulders again, to try and get his attention again. “You’re worrying me, can you just speak in plain sentences?”</p>
<p>“..Uh, do me a favor, Cyella.”</p>
<p>She was hesitant to respond, but he’d finally drawn his eyes back up to meet hers. A sign that he was actually cognizant of his surroundings. “What?”</p>
<p>“Turn in my hunt marks for me, I don’t care much for the gil. I need to go out and find Raine.”</p>
<p>Ardbert started to pull away and walk around Cyella, towards the markets. Much more steady in his footsteps.</p>
<p>She spun on her heel and started walking after him. “If you’re searching for Raine, let me go with you. I’m sure I can still swing a sword-”</p>
<p>He stopped in his tracks. “No.”</p>
<p>Cyella froze in her place. Brows furrowed and wanted to follow anyway, but Ardbert would not let her. She couldn’t bring herself to keep walking forward.</p>
<p>“I’ll take care of this myself. Please stay here.” He turned around one last time and stared up at her eyes. His own reflecting the gentle light of the lamps. “Let the Exarch know what happened if neither of us are back by morning.”</p>
<p>“O-okay.” She stammered out. Trying to muster some confidence to tell him otherwise.</p>
<p>Ardbert turned back towards the steps. “Thank you.” And walked away.</p>
<p>Whether he was still inebriated from the drinking or if the sudden headache was the cause, anyone not caught in their wares watched as the warrior stumbled through the market area towards the aetheryte. Some few felt the temptation to step forward and offer him help. But his every step seemed to be mounted with frustration. Boots scraping the cement and banging hard against the metal plating as he walked across. </p>
<p>“Why is it… so cold…” He mumbled, trying to keep his eyes on the ground in front of him. He ran a gloved hand over his face, trying to bring back some feeling to his pale skin. But it was strangely numb. As if there was ice pressing against every part of his body, slowly freezing it over. But all of this armor should have been more than enough to keep him warm in this weather. Why did it feel as if frostbite was creeping over every one of his limbs?</p>
<p>There was no point in pondering it. The sun, though hidden by the clouds, had long since set. The temperature was dropping and being outside was becoming more unbearable. Snow kept falling to the stone floors, collecting in small piles. It was difficult to see anything beyond some yalms length ahead. Even the bright glow of the Crystal Tower was shrouded completely in the void. </p>
<p>It must’ve been worse in Lakeland. Much worse. The mountains’ valleys would fill faster with snow. There were other wild monsters that could easily find someone if they did not do well to hide themselves in the blizzard. And given the lack of clarity, losing sight of any roads meant that they would most certainly get lost trying to find their way back home.</p>
<p>Some few of the Crystarium’s guards still stood watch at the front gates of Tessellation. Many of whom gasped and urged the warrior to turn around and head back to safety. </p>
<p>‘Please,’ One of them had urged. ‘It’s too dangerous for us to let you go out there on your own.’ But he didn’t heed such a warning. Only shrugged them off and continued trudging onwards into the snow-coated valley.</p>
<p>It was utterly freezing. The cold wasn’t unnatural anymore, but it was only growing more painful. Ardbert kept finding himself hugging his own arms to try and gather whatever body heat he might. But it was hopeless as time passed. As the footprints he left behind were all too quickly covered up. The howling of the wind drowning out any other noise he might’ve been able to use to distract himself from the cold.</p>
<p>There was no distraction from it. It was everywhere in his body. The numbness slowly laying claim to his skin. The delirious desire to curl up somewhere in the snow and pray that warmth came back to his heart. To hope that somehow, someone would know to come for him and pry him out of the-</p>
<p>Ardbert froze in his place, still hugging his arms to try and find warmth. But he wasn’t falling over anymore. He blinked several times, staring at the flakes of snow as they dashed right past his eyes. That same feeling had come back again, the very same that he felt overwhelm him in the Crystarium. When he’d found himself suddenly walking away from Cyella with hardly a word that he could remember speaking. </p>
<p>He’d sobered up enough to notice it this time. To notice that his legs were moving themselves without his input, his body was trying to pull him towards… somewhere. He was losing his own consciousness to whatever was happening. </p>
<p>An inexplicable loss of consciousness. The sensation of being pulled away from reality. But rather than an Echo, it was as if his own will was stolen from him and he was being led on by someone else’s…</p>
<p>Ardbert lowered his head and narrowed his eyes. The feeling of an Echo, though a distant memory these days, was all too familiar. And this sensation was somewhat similar. For a moment, he thought he'd surmised a proper answer. But the reality of such wasn’t what he wished would be true. </p>
<p>He kept walking. The tips of his fingers and edges of his limbs shaking. His own armor was beginning to develop frost on the metal parts. The white particles dotting his clothing and his face. He would occasionally brush some off of his skin, but it clung to him otherwise, slowly turning his dark armor and messy hair a faint white. </p>
<p>Any other time, he might’ve tried ignoring this festering feeling. Tried walking in the opposite direction it told him to, for want of a better outcome. But reality is harsh at times. And trying to make the most of it may be fate’s kindest path that it has to give. </p>
<p>Turning away now could mean leaving the poor girl to freeze to death somewhere in Lakeland. Regardless of how often she’d been able to take care of herself, if Raine truly was stranded and unable to <em> save </em>herself... It would be a small token in comparison, but if he could help, there would be a little less guilt to pry on his heart. </p>
<p>He didn’t ignore the strange feeling that tugged on his legs. But he did what he could to keep himself grounded, to make sure that he was the one walking, and it took some effort. He tried to make note of the surroundings as he passed. A rock formation that he almost tripped over or a tree branch that had fallen to the earth. But any that were close enough to be so much as seen were easy to confuse with any others along the path. Trying to find his way back to the Crystarium would be a hassle. He needed to make sure to keep track of his footsteps for this to-</p>
<p>There was a low growling. Not unlike any monster he’d killed today, but somewhat different. Enough to tell him that he’d walked into the wrong place. Especially as more growls seemed to come from every direction around him.</p>
<p>Ardbert lifted his head back up and stared into the storm of snow. His legs kept trying to move forward, but every sense of survival said to stand back. There were several jackals inching forward just in front of him. Each with jaws snapping and lengthy limbs ready to pounce on the adventurer at a moment’s notice.</p>
<p>He stared at the jackals, cautiously backtredding. This was their hunting territory at night, and man had no right to trespass here. Regardless, the urge to keep going was too strong to ignore. She was still ahead. Rather close, as well.</p>
<p>Ardbert heaved once and slowly let the air out in a composed calmness. His almost numb hands reached for the axe still hanging on his back. His right hand grabbed the shaft of the weapon and slowly pulled it into a proper stance.</p>
<p>Immediately a jackal pounced, ravenously barking as its claws drew trails in the snow and teeth snapped towards its prey. Skinny legs, barely covered in fur, flailed onwards. It leaped up into the air, aiming for the warrior’s unarmored face first. </p>
<p>With only a fulm’s distance away, he’d already swung the axe underhand with the blade angled straight up. The metal unsheathed its means on the small jackal’s body and cut a deep wound directly into its exposed chest. Crimson hues shot from the crevice and found patterns across the snow and the axe itself. A few marks landed on his armor and skin. The jackal’s body was easily tossed aside. It slid across the snow and was left to twitch and struggle behind the warrior, blood spewing from the open wound, along with any other of its entrails.</p>
<p>He sighed and turned back towards the others. Ardbert kept walking forward. </p>
<p>Another jackal raced forward across the snow with ferocity gleaming in its black eyes. The spindly body moved quickly and it was sooner at his feet and ready to bite down on one of his legs... Had the mighty weapon not come crashing over its back and slammed the beast into the ground, shattering its spine. </p>
<p>It whimpered out once, struggling underneath the heavy axe. Limbs kicking and clawing at the snow and trying to find a grip to pull itself free. But it was already beyond being saved and would sooner bleed out than live one more minute. Ardbert lifted the cold weapon out of the newly bled wound, red liquid dripping from the blade. He stepped right over the dying jackal’s body.</p>
<p>The last beast had already closed distance, hanging in the air with its jaw wide open. Ardbert had no window to swing the axe at the dog-like monster and could only lift his right arm to block its jaw from snapping down on his neck. Its teeth enveloped his forearm and tore through a few of the straps holding his armor in place. But they held tight on his arm and left the beast chewing on leather and metal.</p>
<p>He stared at the monster for a moment as it slowly gnawed on his gauntlet. Light blue eyes staring back at the beast’s murderous ones. The low growls coming from the back of its throat. The bloodthirsty glare it gave the adventurer. Truly a being of pure violence. </p>
<p>It started to writhe as it realized it was doing no harm, trying to unhinge its teeth from his gauntlet and try again with a soft part of his armor. But it was found wanting as Ardbert dragged the sharp blade on his left gauntlet across the jackal’s stomach. </p>
<p>It cried and squirmed vigorously as blood poured from the wound. Fell from his arm and started flopping across the floor, trying to get one last blow on its killer before it was done. But it had no such chance.The very tip of the axe plunged downwards towards its small body and shattered the beasts innards. It stopped moving immediately. </p>
<p>The wind kept howling as the blood began to dry on his face. The droplets were already turning a dark red, almost brown color. How unfortunate that the mindless animals had sought to cross paths with such an adventurer. It was almost pitiful to look at their corses dripping across the snow-filled void. </p>
<p>They didn’t know any better than to do as their instincts told. </p>
<p>Ardbert sighed and lifted his axe back out of the beast’s wounds. The blood would need to be wiped off later, or it might rust. But there were other concerns. His heart still kept tugging in one certain direction. And if there were jackals waiting to attack anyone that got near, that couldn’t have been good for her.</p>
<p>He couldn’t run, it was too painful on his limbs to move so fast. But he walked as fast as he could, lifted his legs as high as he might. The axe still clutched in one hand and the other pulling at his frostbitten shoulder. </p>
<p>The growling from before grew louder. The identifiable sounds of more jackals. And quiet whining as they scoured for prey to tear apart and eat. Long had they been searching in the cold of the blizzard. And they’d finally found something for easy picking. A body nearly buried in the white powder. Coated in black and white cloth with sheets of metal protecting them. A cat-like tail hanging off their waist and face planted directly into the snow beneath them.</p>
<p>There must’ve been five or so jackals around her body. Though one was notably bigger than the others. Much more well fed and stronger. It must’ve been the pack’s leader. And it was sniffing at the girl’s arm, slowly chewing on her armor and tearing it off while trying to enjoy its meal.</p>
<p>The numb pain of the cold made it incredibly difficult to move faster, which is all he could’ve used to his advantage. But the jackals hardly noticed his presence. The wind was blowing the opposite direction and they hadn’t even caught his scent. Ardbert was able to drag his body forward, arms hanging at his sides and legs barely able to keep him upright, until he was behind the largest jackal. </p>
<p>His axe raised above his head, blade angled towards his front. And with two frozen arms, he swung the axe head straight down. </p>
<p>The other jackals perked up as their leader howled with the blade plunged through its skull. Scarlet hues splattered across the snows, the jackal’s fur and even the girl’s buried body. It screeched into the night’s cold air and howled as long and hard as it could.</p>
<p>The other jackals barked, but none ran forward. As the axe left its victim to fall over and crumple on the floor, they started to run away. From the meal they’d so longingly looked for that they might survive another night in the winter. From the man with blood rolling down his face for mercilessly killing a wild animal. From their leader’s dying corpse that would be buried and rot beneath the snow.</p>
<p>
  <em> Poor thing… </em>
</p>
<p>Ardbert ripped his stare off the jackal and down into the snow. There were dark patches of armor poking out from beneath the pile of snow. Red lines drawn in the white crystals and blotted with the color from a wound on her arm. Her black-furred ears stuck out from the ice. And one of her gauntlets was reaching forward, like she was trying to grab something.</p>
<p>He fell to his knees immediately and started pushing the snow off her body. Revealing the black-colored armor, her sword and shield hooked on her person. One of her hunts hanging off her waist belt. The image he remembered parting with before they left the Crystarium.</p>
<p>Yet her skin was a ghastly pale hue. Normally a simple dark shade that was now eerily colored in a slight blue, borderline purple in some spots. Snow had practically frozen to her face and did little to speak of her condition.</p>
<p>Ardbert turned her over so that she was no longer facing the ground. But her body was completely limp, arms flopping over and her head falling backwards. Her expression filled with a pained grimace, eyes clenched shut and jaw clenched behind her lips. </p>
<p>“Raine?” He tried to shake her once, as best he could. But the mystel did not respond. "Raine…?" Shook her again. Loose snow fell off her ragdoll of a body.</p>
<p>He brushed a hand over her cheeks, fingertips gently scraping frost off the surface of her face. The white particles were embedded in her brows and hair. She was shivering in his arms. It was a wonder how she was still alive. If she would be for much longer.</p>
<p>Yet somehow she'd survived. Somehow lived long enough to reach out. Somehow got her voice to reach him. By whatever confusing means she'd done it, he thought to ask. It could've been useful to know.</p>
<p>Whatever the case, she was not going to wake until she was warmer. And Ardbert would do his best not to let her get colder. After sheathing the weapon and ensuring her armor was secure, even the parts torn off by the jackal, the hume pulled her into his arms. One hand wrapped under her back and the other carrying her legs to the best of his ability. Raine wasn’t much shorter than he was, and she was certainly heavier than her physical appearance did tell. </p>
<p>But he held her close. Her head resting against his chest and ears tucked behind her head. Tail pulled up and wrapped around her waist to keep Ardbert from kicking it as he walked. </p>
<p>Walking in the snow proved more troublesome with the extra weight. With each step, his boots sunk ilms beneath the surface and trying to pick them back up and take another step was taxing. He was thankful that Raine was immobile, or her squirming might've made this impossible.</p>
<p>Every once in a while, he swore he could hear a soft groan as she slowly started to rouse from slumber. Yet her body remained motionless aside from the shivers. Waking up was still a long way off.</p>
<p>He squinted down at her. Then shook his head and looked back into the void. Only to realize he’d lost track of whatever direction he’d come from.</p>
<p>Ardbert blinked several types, spinning about and trying to find his trail in the blizzard. But it had already been covered up. The dead jackal’s body was so displaced that it did nothing to indicate where he’d struck the beast. The blood coating the snow beneath his feet was already beginning to fade away.</p>
<p>He sighed. There was no easy way to tell what direction to go. The wind had been pushing against him when he made his way out here… So perhaps following it would take him back to the Crystarium?</p>
<p>His boots started trudging through the snow again. The girl in his arms was already starting to weigh him down. He had to keep picking her back up as she slipped out of his arms. Her head kept bouncing back and snapping with her neck, which couldn’t have felt good at all. But with no response in her body, not so much as a twitch of her face or a kick in her limbs, he had no way of knowing if she could actually feel any of it.</p>
<p>Worrying about her comfort wasn’t important anyways. She was deadly pale, breathing virtually silent. Being out in the snow was the biggest concern. They needed somewhere to find shelter. And after dozens of yalms of treading, Ardbert was convinced that he’d gone the wrong direction.</p>
<p>He stared into the endless void, clutching her shoulders tighter. “Damn it.” He mumbled. “Why’d the wind have to change…” Raine was falling out of his grasp again and he picked her back up. Then he kept walking. </p>
<p>Something slipped from her waist as he took a few steps. Her tail fell down and dropped to the snow beneath them. And he failed to notice the small slip until he’d stepped on the tip of her tail and tried to walk forward again.</p>
<p>She didn’t shriek with pain as it was pulled beneath his boot, but there was a grimace of warning before he started to fall forwards. She winced and let a tiny cry out before Ardbert yelled over her. The two fell directly into the snow, her body plunged directly into the cold blanket under his weight. His cry was silenced as he collided with the sleet.</p>
<p>There was cold water pressing against his pale skin, the freeze burning his skin where it touched. He hastily pressed both palms into the snow and pushed his body up, trying to cut the pain off before it could hurt too much more.  He leaned back on his knees and heaved for want of warmth. But looking down below him, he realized that <em> his </em>health was mild concern. </p>
<p>Raine had fallen directly into the small puddle, her body serving as a buffer between his and the water. Almost completely submerged beneath the water’s levels aside from one of her ears protruding from the surface of the broken ice and mush.</p>
<p>His arms frantically wrapped over her body again and he hauled her back up above the icy firmament. Water dripped off her form and slowly froze over her body, her expression twisted with grief. She was no longer shivering, but utterly stiff. There was snow buried in her coat, covering all of her face and hair, frost freezing over the metal sheets of her armor. Not even the steam of her own breathing was visible. </p>
<p>“Crap…” There wasn’t wasting time anymore. It was late into the night, and there was no sign of a sunrise anywhere. Near pitch-black and entirely too difficult to see anything around him. </p>
<p>Even if he could find an outcrop where the snow didn’t fall so hard. Or a settlement that could just give him a place to use as reference, to find the Crystarium. Yet there was nothing. Nothing but snow and ice and water and-</p>
<p><em> Water </em>.</p>
<p>He looked back down at the ground and shifted his legs, watching the ice drift with his motion. That was definitely water he was standing in. Which means they were near the Source, the great lake in the south of Lakeland. If he’d been heading in this direction without spotting the Crystal Tower or even the rocky cliffs near the Exarch Gate, then he was on the other side of the lake. Near the Ostall Imperative. And at the edge of the lake, there was a fishing village. </p>
<p>There was a settlement nearby.</p>
<p>It was too exhausting and painful to run, but by the gods did he try. Forced his body to move faster than it would’ve liked. Every instinct in his body told him to drop the girl and find a place to protect himself. But his own heart said otherwise. </p>
<p>He couldn’t lose her, even if there was little hope of recovering from the hypothermia. He couldn’t bear the thought of it, especially if he gave up and opted for the easy way out. She wasn’t going to die alone. He wasn’t going to let her die. Not like before. Not like last time. Not again. Not ever again.</p>
<p>He kept stumbling across the soaked terrain, making sure to hug the water’s edge so as not to lose the lake. Hugging her body as close as he could to block out the winds and share the warmth. </p>
<p>And before long, he started kicking past broken stones and boards. Some scraps of metal and even a few broken fishing rods. But the wood was long rotted. Any recent catches were nothing but skeletons withering away in the sloshing waters. And any buildings in sight were nearly torn down from countless Sin Eater attacks. </p>
<p>It was the settlement he remembered existing in Lakeland well over a century ago. Long since abandoned and left to rot in this forgotten corner of the map. Broken stonework scattered the once-familiar paths to the small village. The doors to several of the buildings hammered and boarded up. Some were missing their roofs. Some had fences torn up. </p>
<p>Some part of him had hoped ever-so weakly that this village survived. Some part wished for Raine to visit it while she ventured in Norvrandt, that he might see the friendly faces of Lakeland’s inhabitants still thriving like he remembered them. It was only more harrowing to see their blood and weapons coating the stones.</p>
<p><em> Grieving for the past is pointless, </em> he had to remind himself. <em> We have to strive ever onward. For those we have lost… </em></p>
<p>Ardbert glanced down again. The edges of the mystel’s jaw and cheeks were frosting over. Raine looked peaceful. Completely still and devoid of life. But peaceful.</p>
<p>
  <em> For those we can yet save. </em>
</p>
<p>With absolutely no accord to check if anyone was home, he kicked one of the doors in. The wooden boards gave way immediately, rusted nails and rotted wood popping off the wall and letting the board swing on the hinges. The interior of one of the buildings revealed a dust-drenched room, entirely dark and void of light aside from the door. Boarded windows, a musty living area, kitchen-like appliances with rusted pots. Little room for comfort in the small house.</p>
<p>But there was no snow.</p>
<p>He pressed on into the room and as far away from any windows he could find. A spot near the back wall was fit and he set Raine’s body down against it. She did not move an ilm, not a twitch in her expression. But the frost had stopped spreading.</p>
<p>Now there was only the worry of melting it.</p>
<p>Ardbert had no hand in magic. It was his worst suite and he felt somewhat embarrassed to be an adventurer in Norvrandt who’d never even tried to hold a staff. Renda-Rae had enchantments to her songs. Branden’s use of light magic combined with his swordsmanship was deadly. Even Cylva had a hand at it back in the day. Yet Ardbert had never thought the skill useful if he’d always had his friends at his side. </p>
<p>Those days were long gone. He no longer had their comfort to keep him aloft. Their companionship was no buffer to his ‘leadership’ in their party. No matter how much they must’ve told him in the past, he knew he was just another adventurer without them at his side. And that particular truth shone through all too well, now more than ever.</p>
<p>Even after he gathered enough wood that hadn’t been rotted or completely drenched, there was no way to start a fire. Nothing that would’ve given a spark to light a flame. No mage for malms that could offer any assistance.</p>
<p>Well, aside from one. But she was suffering from her veins freezing over. Raine was in no fit state to attempt magic, if she was even consciously aware of their situation. Her skin was growing pale. Her heart slowed down.</p>
<p>He was in a much better state, but falling in the water did Ardbert no good either. The cloth that padded his metal plating was cold and wet, and his fair skin was aching from the chilling touch. His own body tensed up and shivered every moment or so. Breathing stammered as he pulled in a breath and found it too difficult to let it out. </p>
<p>He’d slumped over next to Raine’s unconscious body. Her arms straddled at her side, palms turned up and resting on the floor. Her head had rolled over and legs stretched in front of her. The tips of her boots were just three ilms from the bundle of wood that he’d managed to amass. Still no flame lit to keep them warm. </p>
<p>He stared at her, sitting next to her body and leaning against the same wall. But he didn’t want to try closing his eyes, for fear of falling asleep. Passing out at this point meant almost certain death for them both. Their hearts would beat so slow that their bodies would give up on trying to keep them alive. And they’d simply die in their sleep. Never to be found by anyone until some of the Crystarium’s guards sought to check the abandoned fishing village on the edge of the Source. Where they would kick in the doors and find two Warriors of Light, their frozen bodies laying uselessly against a wall in the dark shadows of a forgotten house. </p>
<p>He tried to brush the thought away and shook his head. Ardbert pulled his gaze away from the dreadful reality and looked down at his hands. The red-tipped gloves were shaking with the glacial temperatures. But he wasn’t stiff yet. He wasn’t dead yet. He was still breathing out steam, though less and less potent with each breath. </p>
<p>At least he wasn’t the one that fell directly into the water.</p>
<p>The guilt chipped away at his demeanor and it was hard to control his own actions. The slow beating in his chest growing louder and louder until he forced himself to look at the mystel on his right. Her body was still unmoving. Eyes still closed. </p>
<p>And he pulled his arms around her.</p>
<p>Ardbert pulled Raine in, cradling her cold face against his shoulder. He placed a hand over the top of her head, pressing her ears down against her skull. The other hand wrapped over her back and held her close to his chest. Their armor clanked as he tried to hug her tighter, trying to give any warmth from his body to hers. He pressed his own face into the top of her head and felt the ice press into his skin. She started to slip out of his grasp and he pulled her back up. Arms raveled around her body, holding her tight and refusing to let her fall again. But despite his best attempts, it didn't make the frost go away.</p>
<p>It was hopeless. She wasn’t getting any warmer. Neither were dry after falling in the lake. Neither had an ounce of warmth in their bodies to even begin helping the other. It was a spell for death indeed. Death that had long since pursued her since she set foot in Norvrandt. </p>
<p>Words he’d spoken many months ago came ringing back. </p>
<p>
  <em> But do me a favor. Be careful out there. This world has had its fill of heroes. </em>
</p>
<p>How ironic. <em> He </em> wasn’t the one that was careful. And now <em> she </em>was going to die.</p>
<p>How dreadful. That he was still causing tragedies even <em> after </em> he’d died. After he’d vowed to use his <em> second chance </em> at life to do good for Norvrandt and Eorzea together. After he’d simply <em> walked away </em> from his hunt marks, thinking that Raine wouldn’t need his help because she’d managed to handle herself in the past.</p>
<p>How selfish. How zealous. How cruel. </p>
<p>She still wasn’t moving. Ardbert couldn’t even hear her breathing. Couldn’t hear her heartbeat. It wasn’t too difficult to hear if it was there. The wind deafened by the sturdy walls of the house. The waves of the Source overlapped by the frozen coverage. The quiet sobs of a fool silenced in the frozen body of a friend.</p>
<p>Ardbert hugged her tighter, burying his face in her shoulder. Her limbs flopped around and her head rested over his shoulder. Her body jostled with each one of his shakes. With each muffled, stammering cry. </p>
<p>He wanted to say sorry. But the words had no way of reaching her.</p>
<p>He kept holding tight. Kept praying to whatever gods there were, that Raine would breathe again. That she would speak and somehow tell him that she’s too stubborn to die. He prayed that he hadn’t carelessly let her tail cause him to trip and throw her into the lake. That he hadn’t walked in the wrong direction trying to find his way back. That he hadn’t just left her to fend for herself in the blizzard.</p>
<p>There was no fixing this. Any messes he’d made in the past, he’d always made amends with his friends’ help. But this? What, all by himself?</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>A few more tremors in his body before he stilled, as much as the shivering cold would let him. One last heave and sob before his broken voice fell silent. He didn’t lose his grip on Raine’s body. But he slowly pulled his tear-stricken face away and looked down at her. </p>
<p>She still wore a grim expression, vacant of any emotion but numb pain. The frost and snow in her hair left it more white than black. The earrings turned the skin around the piercing a slight blue. Tears dripping onto her cheeks from someone else almost immediately solidified into frozen droplets as they made contact with the frost. </p>
<p>It hurt to feel the droplets touch her skin and freeze over it.</p>
<p>He blinked several times and kept staring down at her. A few tracks over his cheeks running from the icy gaze. His eyes narrowed at the girl before he looked up, past her body, towards the boarded window. He traced around the room. Towards the metal appliances stacked in the corner. The door that had been closed after he’d kicked it in. The pile of wood resting in front of their bodies. </p>
<p>He stared a moment longer at the pile. “Huh,” his voice was still coarse, but the tone entirely different. No longer drenched in grief, but simple amusement. “He…” A very weak, very small smile. “He tried.” </p>
<p>His arms slowly unraveled from Raine’s body, letting it rest against the wall again. With shaky legs and clear unease in his footsteps, he tried to stand. He stumbled forward a step or two, like he didn't know how to use his legs. But he managed to get closer to the pile of wood, kneeling down next to it. </p>
<p>He glanced at his hands again, the familiar red gloves, and curled his fingers in, clenching them tight. Then unraveled and noticed them shaking. Felt the shivering come back. </p>
<p>He squinted at the sight. Took a deep breath in and let his eyes close, the tears still staining his skin. Then held both hands out to the fire. Still shaking. </p>
<p>No rod or staff to conjure the magicks. No artifact to channel them. No weapon to so much as brandish the abilities they needed to save themselves. Nothing but a base log to stare at and focus on and pray that whatever aether they had between them, as weak or as strong as either held, was enough. </p>
<p>Even if he’d never tried magic once, his body was no less capable of it. If he only knew the practices, perhaps he could do it. Perhaps she would have to teach him one day, if they ever ended up in this situation again. She didn’t need to keep saving them both.</p>
<p>A spark. One single spark ignited somewhere in the bundle of logs. It caught the lip of the wood, grabbing at it as one would to pull themself over a cliff edge. And it slowly started to climb across the log. Consuming it ilm by ilm until it could find the next log and invite it to the warm embrace. The fire’s tiny flame crackled once.</p>
<p>That was enough, right? Yes, that should’ve been enough. Enough of a flame that he could keep it burning on his own.</p>
<p>Eyes still closed, the tear tracks drying over his cold skin. One deep breath in, and then slowly out. Another breath in. And slowly out. </p>
<p>The howling wind grew distant. The warmth of the flames drifting away. Back to her pitiful excuse for a set of armor. Back to the unideal sheet of ice coating her body… </p>
<p>…</p>
<p>There was a crackling he did not remember being there. His eyes fluttered open, finding himself in a completely different spot. No mystel wrapped in his arms. A fire slowly began to burn in front of him.</p>
<p>Ardbert flinched and pulled both hands away as the fires consumed the pile of wood. The warmth of the flames began to reach up towards his face and tempt him to throw his body closer to the fire. It was oh so soothing after the endless chills of the blizzard kept his limbs hostage. But then the thought came back as to how it started.</p>
<p>Or rather, how did <em> he </em>start it?</p>
<p>He didn’t, did he?</p>
<p>No, not him.</p>
<p>He had no hand in magic.</p>
<p>The hume turned his body, head whipping around to catch sight of the mystel far behind. Only the tip of her shoes began to warm as the ice melted off. A small puddle being left beneath her heels. She was still very much unconscious, not moving herself an ilm from the spot he’d left her. But for some strange reason, she was… smiling. </p>
<p>Blanch skin, hidden in the shadows of the house. Hair drenched white with fallen snow. Coat sharing the same pale hue. The scars dressed on her skin in full view. Frost climbing across her face and the rest of her body. But there was most definitely a smile on her lips. </p>
<p>He kept staring at her, still caught shocked. He glanced down at his gloves once, flexing his fingers in and out. A sharp exhale before another quick breath in. He pulled his right hand up to his face and wiped off the tears, leaving a soft and thoughtful smile. </p>
<p>“Thank you,” he mumbled.</p>
<p>The flames kept kindling. He’d moved her body slightly closer to the flames, but it wouldn’t be enough to defrost her limbs, much less rouse her body from its slumber. Though it was much colder anywhere else in the house, his life was in far less danger, and he went searching through the forgotten relics.</p>
<p>There were pans all over the house that made for easy holding of snow. Soon to be melted when he left the pans right next to the fire. The water wasn’t quite boiling, enough that steam only drifted from the top of the pan. It was all he needed and debatedly as safe as it could get. </p>
<p>Raine was laying on her side, the front of her body facing the fire, arms and hands held close to the flames. Ardbert knelt down next to her face and started brushing the frost off of her skin. Picking up her limbs and doing his best to rid her body of the freeze. Soon enough, the ice was dripping off her face. And he was able to see the mystel’s tattoo marks again. Her furrowed expression, yet gentle smile was more easily definable.</p>
<p>The snow relinquished its grasp on her slowly. Her armor no longer frosted over and hair starting to bleed back into a raven hue. Breathing grew slightly deeper that he could finally hear it again. His incessantly beating heart was finally beginning to calm.</p>
<p>He silently said another prayer towards whatever god graced him with her survival.</p>
<p>Raine kept sleeping. Body drenched across the floor next to the fire with the carelessness of a child. Granted Ardbert left her in that position, but it somehow felt intentional on her part. Like she was relishing in being able to lay there and be useless. Be taken care of. To have someone else do her job for her and protect others. </p>
<p>He kept getting up to check outside, see how the blizzard was faring. Then went back to make sure she hadn’t rolled into the fire in her sleep. Then checked her again to see if she was still asleep. Got up to check outside now that he’d heard some kind of growling, and even brought his axe into his hand in the case that he’d need to go on another killing spree. </p>
<p>He kept doing that. Kept checking on her. Kept going back to the door. Kept listening to the howling wind. Kept watching the embers fall. </p>
<p>And for a moment, he felt drowsy. Like he could’ve fallen over and slept right there. It had been a long day, after all. Some several hours since he last had a drink and the soberness left him exhausted afterwards. Cyella must’ve been so upset with him for leaving his hunt marks for her to turn in for him. He prayed that she’d forgive him for the hassle if he made it back to the Crystarium, all the while drifting off to sleep.</p>
<p>That was the first thing Raine saw as she began to wake up: his tired body sitting upright near a fire. Eyes barely open and body swaying as he tried to stay awake. And she couldn’t help it and let out a small laugh.</p>
<p>A noise he hadn’t heard in a while, but was familiar enough to put him at ease. His eyes fluttered back open and he looked down at the mystel on his right. Raine's face turned up towards him. A friendly look shining in her tired eyes. A much improved state from earlier. </p>
<p>“Good… morning.” Raine rasped out in the weakest voice he’d ever heard from her.</p>
<p>“Good morning.” Ardbert mumbled back. “Are you warm?”</p>
<p>She squinted and the smile stifled just a little. “I…” She was still laying on her side. Her fingers twitched inwards, but hardly held to the base of her palm for longer than a second. “My h-hands are cold…” </p>
<p>He stared a moment longer, still processing her words. Then winced. His body quickly moved upright and standing. He grabbed something from the far end of the fire, where Raine couldn’t see. </p>
<p>A small pan with water in it. Not boiling or bubbling, but definitely hot. Steam came from the top of the pan and warmed the air between them.</p>
<p>“Here, sit up.” He placed the pan on the stone beneath them and knelt down next to her. She tried to get up on her own, but her arms were too weak and skin too numb to properly position herself. He did most of the lifting, pulling her into an upright position by carrying both her arms, then gently letting them back down.</p>
<p>He pressed one knee on the floor and left the other propped up. He held out his right hand. “May I?”</p>
<p>Raine stared at his glove, then looked down at her own. Her wrist wrapped in frail bandages and her thin glove doing little to actually protect her skin. It was a scarce outfit for a tank to wear, but one she often donned when hunting. </p>
<p>She gave her hand over to the warrior, and he started unraveling the cloth from her limb. It fell down into a small pile next to his boots. He tugged on the gloves and pulled them off slowly, exposing her hand. The tips of her fingers were darker than the rest of her skin.</p>
<p>Raine winced at the sight, the smile from before entirely gone by now. But before she could say anything, he lowered her hand into the pan of water between them. </p>
<p>Immediately it burned her skin and she wanted to pull it away. But the burn subsided as soon as it came and the numb parts of her hand prickled. It was a bizarre feeling that left her uncomfortable, but the heat alone was enough to convince her that it was necessary.</p>
<p>“You’re at the worst parts of frostbite… Trying to turn it back is going to be difficult.” He examined her skin closely as he held it in the water, noting the slight resistance from her arm as she subconsciously pulled away from the pain. “But I’ll do what I can.” </p>
<p>Raine stared at his hand wrapped over her much smaller one. He was right, her hand was practically burning with the cold shivers in it. But it was slowly beginning to fade. “How do you know so much about this…?” Her voice was frail, but words were clearly spoken.</p>
<p>“There were awful winters like this back in my day. People would often get frostbite… Happened to Branden, in fact.” He was still focused on keeping her exposed skin submerged in the heated water. But there was a small smile on his face. “He fell into the lake in the middle of a fight. We needed to pull him out and drag him towards a spring.”</p>
<p>“How many people did it take?” Raine asked.</p>
<p>“Only two of us, actually.” He almost laughed at the memory. “He’s a galdjent… or… roegadyn, I think you called them in Eorzea. They’re heavy and it was a miracle that a hume like myself and an elf could even carry him, much less as he was fighting us the whole way.” </p>
<p>“Wh…” Raine smiled with curiosity, her brows furrowed. Her hands slowly warming more. “Why was he fighting?”</p>
<p>Ardbert looked up and stared at her eyes. “He thought <em> we </em>were the enemy. Shouting curses at us and telling us to let him go… You swear he’d gone mad.” </p>
<p>She couldn’t keep a cheap laugh buried and snorted, grinning and imagining the moment as best she could. A burly man drenched in both cold armor and freezing water, being dragged by a shorter man and a taller girl towards a bath house, trying to hack and slash at them the whole way there. A miqo’te in archer’s gear laughing along while two mages, a short lalafell and a taller elezen only rushed after them, both drenched in fear for their dear friend’s safety. </p>
<p>Like any other day in Voeburt. Except freezing cold and assigned with hunting down mercenaries that still stole from the royal family’s kitchens and storehouses. </p>
<p>Though being able to investigate the scene of theft would’ve been a great help, the castle itself was still off-limits to them due to Branden’s rough history with the royal family. They’d have to find the mercenaries themselves and cut them down… Hopefully without falling into the lake the next time.</p>
<p>
  <em> Stop laughing and help us carry him! </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Oh, but Ardbert? Why should we? After all, you three are the strongest among us, aren’t you? </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Renda, this isn’t the time for joking! </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> ...I doubt it’s anything serious. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Oh for gods’ sake, Nyelbert, I thought you cared more than that! </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> If you don’t HELP us any time soon, then the bounty is gonna be spent on tending to the thrashing that he’s given us! PLEASE have a heart for once! </em>
</p>
<p>Raine smiled weakly at the memory. </p>
<p>Then flinched and grimaced. She was… remembering that. Like she’d been there herself, all those decades ago.</p>
<p>Ardbert noticed the shift in her expression. “You can see it, can’t you?”</p>
<p>Raine glanced up at him, then back towards the fleeting memory. “Yes…” She muttered under her breath. “It… feels real.”</p>
<p>He sighed and reached for her other hand, which she reluctantly gave. Pulled the bandages off her wrist and glove off her hand. Revealed a familiar sight of dark fingertips and placed her palm in the pan of hot water. She flinched again, but gave little resistance to his attempts to aid her. </p>
<p>“How so?” He asked, looking back up at her confused expression.</p>
<p>Raine shook her head, still staring at the memory and not him. “Something… something similar must’ve happened to me… Probably just served as a reminder.”</p>
<p>Ardbert blinked once. “Or you’re seeing an image of the past.”</p>
<p>She winced and her eyes refocused on what was in front of her. On him. “Wh-what?” She vigorously shook her head. “N-no. It’s probably just the poison. I’m still delirious.” </p>
<p>Ardbert perked up. “‘Poison?’ What poison?” Voice drenched in concern. </p>
<p>Raine’s expression shifted again and her ears fell flat against her skull. Her eyes twitched down and she looked away from his worried demeanor. “I… got hurt while killing my marks.”</p>
<p>“By what?”</p>
<p>“A snake. I didn’t see it while going through the snow and stepped on it by accident.” She sighed and closed both eyes, somewhat ashamed of her carelessness. “It reared up and bit me. But the damn thing wouldn’t let go so I had to kill it…” She glanced at her waist and saw the impaled snake hanging on her belt. “I still have it with me.” </p>
<p>He dropped both her hands immediately, trusting her to leave them sitting in the pans of water. Leaned forward and grabbed hold of the stick that the snake had been impaled on. Its long body pierced through several times, starting at the maw of its mouth and going straight through the rest of it. </p>
<p>“Snakes like these aren’t native to Lakeland.” He mumbled, observing its scales. “Did you wander near Rak’tika?” </p>
<p>“I didn’t think I’d gone that far… But I did lose track of where I was after I got bit.” She shrunk back with embarrassment.</p>
<p>“It must’ve gotten lost as well, you were just unlucky.” Ardbert stared at it a moment longer.</p>
<p>He placed it over the fire. </p>
<p>Raine watched the flames slowly sear the snake’s scales and boil out the softer parts of its anatomy. Despite the gruesomeness of watching its inner fluids run out and drip onto the fire, it wasn’t jarring enough to pull her head out of the memory that she swore wasn’t her’s.</p>
<p>“Is that why you fainted? Because it bit you?” </p>
<p>“I guess.” She shrugged. “I was feeling woozy afterwards… And I…” Her eyes narrowed. “I… saw some things.”</p>
<p>“...’Things?’”</p>
<p>“Nightmares.” She shook her head, already dismissing the topic of conversation. </p>
<p>“Like people sacrificing themselves for you?”</p>
<p>Raine winced and she jerked her head up, making eye contact with Ardbert. He was staring back. His expression somehow composed, despite knowing what she’d seen in her delirious state. </p>
<p>“Am I right?” He asked again.</p>
<p>She kept staring, brows furrowed and a frown dotting her lips. </p>
<p>“And the snake bite. Can I guess it’s on your right leg?”</p>
<p>Raine’s emerald eyes widened. “How did you-”</p>
<p>“Because I can feel a pain on my right leg even though I haven’t been so much as scraped.”</p>
<p>Raine lowered her head and stared at her defrosting hands.</p>
<p>A silence filled the room. Ardbert looked back at the crackling flames. Threw a glance or two towards Raine’s solemn expression and her hands regaining color beneath the water. The scent of burning wood and smoke was beginning to fill the room, some of the fumes escaping through the broken parts of the ceiling. The snake kept boiling away on the stick, getting more charred and edible as each flame lapped at its body.</p>
<p>Ardbert took a deep breath. “S’pose it has to do with Hydaelyn and Zodiark, and the Sundering? The Amaurotines and the Old World?”</p>
<p>“Maybe…” She was distant. Her iffiness towards the topic was immedaitely obvious. </p>
<p>“...Hope this isn’t anything… too strange. You can tell me to stop if it’s making you uncomfortable or-” </p>
<p>“I’ve had worse… Don’t worry about it.” </p>
<p>“Right. Of course.”</p>
<p>Silence.</p>
<p>“...Do you think the others could still come back?” Raine asked.</p>
<p>“‘Others?’”</p>
<p>“The other Shards. The ones that were already… rejoined.”</p>
<p>“Oh.” Ardbert paused. “…I don’t know, actually.” </p>
<p>“It’s all I’ve been able to think about lately.” </p>
<p>“Why’s that?”</p>
<p>“Because we got you back. What’s stopping us from getting <em> them </em>back?” </p>
<p>“Wasn’t I a <em> special </em>case?”</p>
<p>“...”</p>
<p>“That’s what the Ascian said, right?”</p>
<p>“I hope he’s wrong. I wanna bring them all back.”</p>
<p>“...Wouldn’t something happen to the Source?.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know...”</p>
<p>“That could mean another calamity.”</p>
<p>“...”</p>
<p>“And we don’t even know if it’d bring them all back, if at all.”</p>
<p>Raine leaned forward. “We could at least try.”</p>
<p>“Perhaps with safer methods… We can’t rush it to happen.”</p>
<p>Ardbert kept staring at the fire. The flames still consuming the logs beneath. Eating away the fuel like it was nothing. And still demanding more from the sacrifice it was already given. The logs were gone and the fire demanded more.</p>
<p>Raine shifted her hands in the water and was able to curl her fingers in for a few seconds longer, an improvement from earlier when she could barely move her own hands. But it was still difficult. She squinted at the sight, still hesitant to ask for help. But they wouldn’t have gotten this far if they didn’t work together.</p>
<p>She sighed and admitted defeat. “The water’s cold.” </p>
<p>He had been staring at nothing, then looked down at the dented and scraped pans. “Oh.” Ardbert immediately moved her hands from the water with a gentle motion, making sure not to brush the damaged skin too much. But there was no alternative heating. He pushed the pans away, towards the small fire, and prayed that the water would heat faster. For now all she could do was wait.</p>
<p>She didn’t give a voice to her discomfort, but it was plainly obvious. Her hands were resting on her legs, unable to move them more than an ilm. Her ears flicked as the wind slammed on the broken pieces of the house. She was still shivering. Still covered in frost, even if it was melting slowly. </p>
<p>It was pitiful.</p>
<p>Ardbert stared at her frail frame before speaking up, “Here.” Gauntlets reached towards her wrists again. She watched his hands, but not with fear. Watched his gloves wrap over the back of her hands and encompass them. Only a few ilms of distance between their freezing bodies.</p>
<p>Though they weren’t too far apart in height, it was strange to notice how small the girl was. And she somehow learned to wield a sword and shield in battle rather than a staff or cane. </p>
<p>As he shielded her hands, she winced. There was no resistance, no voice to tell him to go away. If anything, she seemed to not care. Only giving the expression because her body felt the pain. </p>
<p>He noticed that grimace. That vacancy in the present, eyes still staring at something in the past. She seemed upset. Or perhaps afraid. Of what, he couldn’t be sure. There were too many things to be afraid of at times like this. The only thing that could’ve helped was being able to take comfort with a friend.</p>
<p>“Are you scared?” He asked.</p>
<p>“...I don’t want to fail them.” She blinked several more times, staring at the flame’s encompassing embrace. “They…” She sighed. With great hesitance, she pulled her hands away from him and clasped them together in her lap. “Nevermind.”</p>
<p>“What?” He leaned back, already giving her the space she wanted.</p>
<p>“<em> Nothing </em>.” Her reply was not mounted with anger, but desperation to shun the topic.</p>
<p>“You were going to say something. What was it?” Kept nudging her to respond.</p>
<p>Raine remained silent. She continued to spectate the lapsing flames as they crawled up into the cold air and dispersed into the smoky atmosphere. </p>
<p>Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. “They probably hate me.”</p>
<p>
  <em> She’s talking about the other Shards.  </em>
</p>
<p>“...Why would they hate you?" He asked.</p>
<p>“Because it’s my fault they’re not… them. They don’t exist anymore.”</p>
<p>“Last I recall, you saved a world to <em> stop </em>a Rejoining.”</p>
<p>“But I’m the one that-” Raine cut herself off, struggling to find words that didn’t sound crazy. “I-It’s my soul that’s-” That didn’t sound right either. How in the world was she supposed to talk about this? It was so tremendously bizarre and unlike any other issues she’d had in the past. Such a weird topic for conversation, as well. And to know that <em> they </em>might’ve been hearing every word and judging her silently was…</p>
<p>The hume kept staring at her, eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to blame yourself for all of it?”</p>
<p>Raine didn’t respond. She didn’t even look at Ardbert. </p>
<p>“You’ve no stake in Rejoinings, you <em> never </em> have.”</p>
<p>“Doesn’t excuse my part in them…” The mystel’s head drooped and she hid her face. “I’m a denizen of the Source. I’m not the one being erased from existence each time the Ascians are successful.”</p>
<p>Ardbert watched her descent into self-loathing. A part of him wanted to comfort her and say again that it wasn't her fault. But another part of him, someone that he thought he no longer was, would’ve said otherwise. Would’ve told her that she was right, and it was never her world that was being threatened with destruction. A him that had listened to the Ascians and tried to hasten their godsdamned Ardor.</p>
<p>She had a point. Though never wanting a stake in Rejoinings, as a denizen of the Source, Raine was cursed to it. If he were still the same person over a century ago, he might’ve yelled the very same thing at her, that she was at fault and she should pity the Shards that she’d unknowingly killed. </p>
<p>He was almost ashamed to know he once thought like that. And he felt awful knowing that Raine was finally feeling that sorrow.</p>
<p>A hand wrapped over her shoulder. His leather gloves grabbed her arm and pulled her in. Raine stiffened and she felt her head knock against his body, the soft and fluffy piece of his armor that protected his shoulders. She remained still, staring at the fire in between the two heroes.</p>
<p>“It’s not my place to decide how they might feel. I never knew them, the same way that you never knew them. But I was in the same place… And I can say this much.” Ardbert’s hand held her head closer, brushing the rest of the frost out of her hair. </p>
<p>Raine’s heart dropped, but she did not pull away from her friend. Her eyes narrowed and she started to lean more on his body.</p>
<p>“I did hate you. And I hated the Scions. I hated everyone I met on the Source for as long as I was there. And I didn’t have a reason besides… they were from the Source. You were from the Source, and at the time, that was reason enough to loathe your existence.”</p>
<p>“But I never got to know you… I never realized how little you knew of our plight and how much you wanted to help, until Minfilia gave her life to save the First. Until you showed up in the Crystarium. Until I saw you strike down a Lightwarden, and I saw the night sky again.</p>
<p>“I hated you for something you couldn’t help. And you still cared about us despite our willful mistakes. So I’m doubtful, even if the other Shards do hold ill-will, that it’s truly meant for you.”</p>
<p>Raine sniffled. Her body had stopped shivering.</p>
<p>“You are not the selfish person that I once thought you were if you’re grieving them now. You’re not responsible for the machinations of the Ascians. So don’t take the weight of it all on yourself.”</p>
<p>She blinked several times. Green eyes misty, but no tears fell across her dark skin. </p>
<p>The hug tightened. Raine’s tail swayed across the floor beneath them. Her fingers curled into her palms. She was thankful that he was letting her body lean on his.</p>
<p>“...Thank you,” She mumbled.</p>
<p>“I’ve only said the truth, there’s no need to thank me.”</p>
<p>“Not just that… Thank you for rescuing me. I could’ve died out here.”</p>
<p>“...I nearly killed you trying to save you.” He recounted stepping on her tail and throwing her into the water by accident.</p>
<p>“Yeah, but… I’m not dead. I gotta be thankful for that.”</p>
<p>The fire kept crackling. Harsh winds kept threatening to push the abandoned house over. It kept snowing through the night. Until the clouds were beginning to thin and the sun was rising over the mountains. Until the fire had died and the snake had been charred and crumbling into the pile of ash.</p>
<p>Until the Exarch was yelling for the guards to scour Lakeland until they’d been found. Searching every ilm of the violet land before stumbling on the remains of a fishing village. Two guards dressed in brass armor and red cloaks knocking the doors in and finally finding the two they’d been searching for. </p>
<p>A hume with pale skin and messy brown hair, fast asleep and peacefully, at that. His slumbering body rested on a raven-haired mystel who was only smiling when the sun started to shine through the door. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>5.3 please give me my ghost boy back so i can hope they'll adventure together</p></blockquote></div></div>
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